Owner didn't feel it had any connection to the city and state. Thus the team is now named after the state bird, which is also on the flag. Personally I would've picked to name them the New Orleans Hurricanes.

Owner didn't feel it had any connection to the city and state. Thus the team is now named after the state bird, which is also on the flag. Personally I would've picked to name them the New Orleans Hurricanes.

I'm not sure how that would go over with the community. I could see many being uncomfortable. Although Hurricanes would be much better than Pelicans in my opinion. That is just not a good name for a professional sports team.

New Orleans Hornets spokesman Greg Bensel denied a Yahoo! Sports report that owner Tom Benson plans to change the nickname of his NBA franchise from the Hornets to Pelicans.

"Weíre not confirming that is the name,íí Bensel said. "This is a process thatís ongoing and still in discussions. And it will be eventually decided by the NBA.íí

Benson, though, is actively pushing for a name change and he has owned the rights to the Pelican nickname for years. In an interview on Fox Sports Television, Gayle Benson, Tomís wife, said she wants to change the teamís colors to navy blue, red and gold.

I totally feel like a guy in another city must have felt back when they announced that Toronto's team would be the "Raptors"

Feels good to be on the other side of the window

They've got a video on NBA.com of Rick Fox and Sam Mitchell just having a big ol' laugh about this. I really can't imagine they're going to follow through with this name ... its a marketing nightmare!!

"That was Nasty right? Cocked that Joint back and banged on 'em." -James Johnson